Performance Today®

When you push the envelope, sometimes the envelope pushes back. Early jazz was criticized as lawless, lascivious, even dangerous. In 1921, the Ladies Home Journal wrote that "Unspeakable Jazz Must Go." Apparently, jazz doesn't read the Ladies Home Journal, because it never left. In today's show, we'll explore the permeable boundary between classical and jazz, in works by Darius Milhaud, George Gershwin, and Dave Brubeck.

Nobody wrote lonely, gut-wrenching, all-alone-in-the-middle-of-the-night music like Dmitri Shostakovich. His music often has an intensity that borders on painful, that puts you outside your comfort zone. Which makes his Symphony Number 9 all the more surprising. Think of it as Shostakovich lite: less angst, fewer calories. Michael Tilson Thomas leads the San Francisco Symphony in Shostakovich's sparkling Ninth Symphony, from a concert in San Francisco.

Poet Rita Dove wrote a book about Beethoven, his best friend in 1803, and the piece they premiered together. Beethoven wrote an astonishing sonata inspired by the virtuosity of violinist George Bridgetower. But one night over drinks, the two friends got into a fight. Beethoven took Bridgetower's name off the music, and they never spoke again. Rita Dove has re-imagined their relationship in her book, "Sonata Mulattica." She joins PT host Fred Child to guide us through their story, and through the piece that's become known as Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata.

Today on PT, special music in honor of a few of our 44 Commanders-in-Chief. The inimitable James Earl Jones reads words by Abraham Lincoln, in Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait." We'll tip our caps to Harry S. Truman, perhaps our most musical president. And hear how Ronald Reagan facilitated pianist Vladimir Feltsman's defection from the former Soviet Union. Plus works inspired by U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Bill Clinton.

The Israel Philharmonic has been around since 1936, making it older than the modern-day nation of Israel. In honor of its 75th anniversary, the Philharmonic is embarking on a major American tour, starting this weekend. On today's show, a performance from their home in Tel Aviv, recorded this past week. Music Director Zubin Mehta conducts.

The Israel Philharmonic has been around since 1936, making it older than the modern-day nation of Israel. In honor of its 75th anniversary, the Philharmonic is embarking on a major American tour, starting this weekend. On today's show, a performance from their home in Tel Aviv, recorded just three days ago. Music Director Zubin Mehta conducts.

Johannes Brahms' fourth symphony could be viewed as a reflection of his own personality, starting with a slightly gruff and glowering exterior. Brahms himself called the work dark, forbidding, and melancholy. But the symphony also has moments of lightness and joy. Just like the Brahms who could write charming waltzes and lively Hungarian dances. In today's show, this complex piece by an equally complex man, from a concert by the New York Philharmonic.

Peter Tchaikovsky's violin concerto had a rocky start. The first two violinists who tried to master it gave up. The third gave the work its premiere, but was panned by critics. One said the soloist had not so much played the violin as "torn it apart, pounded it black and blue." Nowadays, the Tchaikovsky concerto is an audience favorite, a staple in every violinist's repertoire. We'll hear one of the best, Christian Tetzlaff, in concert with the Montreal Symphony.

Carl Maria von Weber was one of the greatest champions of the clarinet. He seemed to have an innate feel for what would sound good on the instrument that's sometimes called the licorice stick. Soaring melodies, intricate runs, hefty technical passages. Clarinetist Jorg Widmann turns confectioner in a performance of Weber's First Clarinet Concerto, from a concert in Stuttgart, Germany.